Skip to main content

Janus La Cour Olive Trees Near Tivoli

Olive Trees near Tivoli
Olive Trees near Tivoli

Before reading, take a look once more at the painting and contemplate what you notice first. To me, I notice the gnarly and tangled trees as I imagine most do. But my next thoughts are filled with the characteristics of old trees. The slow taper of the tree trunk going upward and the serpentine-like movement of the branches through the air are features that jump out to me. When hiking through a forest ecosystem, looking for monolithic forest dwellers similar to the olives depicted here, I am drawn to these ecosystems. Here organisms exist in rough environmental conditions for other life-forms yet persevere for centuries. This is a type of existence in the world that keeps me in awe of botanical life.

Nick Koenig , Botanist, University of Cambridge

Discover other viewpoints related to this

Sign up to our emails

Be the first to hear about our news, exhibitions, events and more…

Sign up